Amazon announced today the launch of an AI-driven shopping assistant called Rufus. This new tool has been trained on the e-commerce giant's product catalog and information from the web. The company stated in its blog that Rufus will be rolled out to a select group of customers in the United States as a beta version starting today, with plans to expand to more users in the coming weeks. Rufus has been trained on product catalogs, customer reviews, community questions, and information from the web, enabling it to answer questions related to customers' shopping needs at any stage of their shopping journey. Amazon aims to provide customers with a more personalized shopping experience through Rufus, helping them find desired products, compare products, and receive purchasing recommendations. For example, customers can ask Rufus questions about running shoes, headphones, beauty products, and golf balls, and receive relevant advice and guidance. Rufus is being launched as a beta version within the Amazon mobile app, and customers can activate the feature by clicking on a new button in the bottom navigation bar. They can chat with Rufus, ask questions or make requests, and receive corresponding answers and suggestions. After completing the chat, customers can return to the Amazon app by scrolling down the screen. Amazon states that the beta version is being launched to continuously improve the product and generative AI technology. The company encourages customers to provide feedback by evaluating the answers they receive and plans to continuously fine-tune the AI model and responses to make Rufus more useful. It is worth noting that Amazon's previous enterprise AI chatbot, Q, has been controversial. Reports suggest that the chatbot created illusions and leaked confidential data. Therefore, we will need to wait for market feedback and reviews to assess Rufus' actual performance and effectiveness. Overall, Amazon's introduction of the AI shopping assistant Rufus is a positive attempt to enhance consumers' shopping experience using AI technology. Through interaction and feedback from customers, Rufus has the potential to become a practical shopping assistant, helping customers better find desired products, compare them, and make purchasing decisions.